Range Hood Styles

The most common hood found in the kitchen is the modern looking stainless steel range hood, which are excellent as they resist corrosion and are easy to look after. For a more traditional looking kitchen it is possible to have a custom made hood made out of copper or wood. These are usually more expensive but they can last you for years and actually be passed down through the family. Copper range hoods are one of my favorites, especially in a log cabin style rustic kitchen. They can come engraved in wonderful forest or hunting scenes and go very well in rural properties or homesteads.

When designing a new room, kitchen range hoods are one of the most important features and often a focal point. In fact they can make or break the appearance and enhance the overall style quite considerably. It is
credit: byronv2important, therefore, that the size fits in with the overall size of the kitchen so as not to look too out of place and the finish should also complement the finish of the units and work surface. It would look quite odd to have an ultra modern range hood in a traditional, country style kitchen. The hood needs to be big enough to overlap the sides of the range or cooking surface.

Most hoods you find are usually wall mounted although if you have a kitchen island it is possible to find a specific island range hood which can be suspended from the ceiling. With an island model you will need some way of running the  pipe from the hood to the outside world through an external wall. This is not a drastic job to undertake however, and is usually a relatively easy job for any experienced builder. Another alternative, if this is out of the question, is to by a non vented  hood. These pass the air through a filter which removes the toxins and particles and then recirculates the air back into the kitchen. The only drawback is that they require a little more maintenance as the filters have to be removed and regularly cleaned.

The most useful tool for finding a good hood is the computer. Looking online at manufacturers and wholesalers websites is the best place to start. This way it is quite easy to get a discount price as they do not have to increase their prices to cover the cost of expensive showrooms. You can get a good idea of the styles and compare prices from the comfort of your living room. There are many types of range hoods on offer so take your time and pick one that will enhance your kitchen.

A range hood is usually vented to the outside and remove grease, steam, and cooking odors from the kitchen. Some hoods do not have outside vents and rely on replaceable charcoal filters to clean
credit: rory.ramsden@btopenworld.com smoke and odors from the air. They are available in different sizes and strengths, as well as noise levels. It may seem like bigger is better, but in the case of an exhaust hood, that is not necessarily so. Hoods are available in many sizes, but typically an up-draft range hood should provide 100 cfm of ventilation for wall-mounted hoods and 150 cfm for island hoods. They should always have a ducted passage to the outside that is fitted with a damper to prevent infiltration.

Range hoods are generally constructed to be 4 inches wider than your stove/cooking range. For example, a 36 inch stove would usually be complemented with a 40 inch range hood. They are often rated for sound and sound levels are measured in sones, which is different than dB ratings that vary exponentially. One sone is the sound of a new refrigerator cycling on. Range hoods are a necessity for keeping good indoor air quality in the home, especially since some indoor pollutants can be measured at concentrations 50 times higher than outdoors. Hoods of all types protect the home’s occupants from poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide, smoke and grease build-up, which can cause fires.

Stylish kitchen hoods are all the rage in the new and higher functioning kitchen. Sitting above a cooktop, hoods work to ventilate and redistribute the hot, often pungent air emitting from any number of cooking concoctions. They are often a code requirement, and should be placed directly over your cook top; they are not needed for wall ovens, which generally have their own vent systems. Other equipment in the kitchen such as washer dryer combo machines also need venting. Range hoods usually match the color of your oven and most range hoods have a fan and lighting inside.

The kitchen is an important part of any house as family and friends gather for some good times, entertaining, exchanging stories and are often one of the only places where families get together at the same time each day.  Indeed, in a lot of homes the kitchen has replaced the traditional role of the living room and has become the most popularly used room in the house. It is, therefore, important that the kitchen is a clean, environmentally safe place that is a pleasure to eat and socialize in. A lot of time goes in decorating the whole house but most of the time the kitchen is over looked. Kitchen exhaust systems should discharge odours and particulate matter to the outdoors. Recirculating range hoods or ‘ductless’ systems rely on filters to capture some odors and grease and re-circulate the air into the kitchen.

Wall-mount range hoods are made to fit the kitchen cupboards surrounding it, often attached on each side so the crown molding is continuous across the top. However, an unattached range hood, where the cabinets end on each side can be picturesque as well. Wall-mounted hoods are generally more effective than free-standing or “island” hoods, because there are fewer air currents to blow fumes away from the hood. Wall-chimney range hoods don’t have any cabinets above them to hide the ductwork. Instead, they have covers that conceal the ducts.

Nothing beats a range hood for venting smokes and fumes. Be sure to get one the right size: It should be at least as wide as the cooking surface it goes over. HVI certification confirms that your product has been tested and meets specific industry standards. It also confirms that your product will perform as promised and you will receive proper ventilation to maximize your indoor air quality. If you are designing kitchen range hoods you should select the ventilator unit first. The range hood should be designed to permit enough room for the ventilator and ductwork required to vent to the outside.